


Never Let Me Go

by evil_giraffe



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Getting Together, M/M, Magical Realism, Misunderstandings, Season/Series 09
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24803719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evil_giraffe/pseuds/evil_giraffe
Summary: During a very strange case, an undercover op goes sideways. Things only get worse from there... or so it appears.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 101
Kudos: 174





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story begins somewhere in the gap between seasons 8 and 9 and addresses the events of many season 9 episodes.

For the past nine days, Five-0 has been working the case from hell; three couples have been abducted from nightclubs, with each couple being missing for two days before being found dead on the third morning, and the next pair of victims being taken later the same day. That’s six bodies so far, all dead from mysterious injuries that Noelani cannot explain and with no forensic evidence to speak of. Each pair was taken from a different club and the security cameras at each club failed somewhere between ten to twenty minutes before the victims were last seen. After an exhaustive interview process, Five-0 has been unable to identify any person seen in the vicinity of all three couples, or any other link between the victims, other than a general sense from their loved ones and from witnesses at the clubs that each couple was deeply devoted to each other.

It’s extraordinarily frustrating and the entire team is exhausted, so with no leads and just hours to go before night falls, when another abduction is due to take place, Steve has been forced to recommend to the governor that all clubs on the island be closed. But unfortunately she’s unwilling to take that step, instead offering the choice for establishments to close of their own volition or to remain open on the condition of hiring additional security.

Although it’s not an exact science, Jerry has used a probability analysis to identify the three clubs he thinks are most likely to be targeted next. In the hopes of catching the killer or killers in the act, Five-0 is going in undercover to one of these, while HPD detectives take the other two. Given that no one on the team is exactly at their best by this point, Steve is a little concerned about the prospect of using Junior and Tani as bait, but they don’t really have any other option. He sends everyone home to try to rest for a few hours before heading to the club.

Except for Junior and Tani, they all arrive at the club separately. Jerry stays outside in the surveillance van, having been granted access to the club’s security feed. Steve, Danny and Lou take up strategic positions around the place and attempt to blend in. Junior and Tani immediately head for the dance floor. They seem to be doing a pretty good job of appearing infatuated with each other, but while Steve discreetly keeps an eye on them, Danny and Lou have been tasked with identifying and observing other couples who might be potential victims.

It’s been two hours before Jerry announces that the video feed has gone down, so apparently they have the right place. Seventeen very tense minutes later, Steve watches in stunned disbelief as Tani and Junior literally vanish before his eyes. He’s confident he didn’t even blink.

“What the fuck,” Danny’s voice comes over the comms, so he must have also witnessed it.

“What happened?” Lou asks.

“Junior and Tani just disappeared,” Steve informs him grimly, forcing his way through the crowd to the place where they were standing, but unsurprisingly, there’s nothing to see when he gets there. Strangely, the people dancing nearby don’t seem to have noticed at all that anything unusual just occurred.

“I've got no signals from their phones, or the trackers they were wearing,” Jerry updates them all, sounding extremely distressed.

Steve begins to worry that he might actually be going insane; what he just saw is completely impossible. Then he’s suddenly hit with the horrifying realization that he might have just seen his young friends alive for the last time and, if that’s the case, he’s entirely responsible. This all seems like a terrible nightmare. He feels dizzy and thinks he might throw up.

Danny arrives in front on him, placing one hand on Steve’s chest and the other on his face, forcing Steve to meet his shocked and concerned gaze. “Breathe, babe,” he says. “We’ve got two days, we’re going to get them back.”

“ _How?_ ” Steve demands brokenly.

“I don’t know. But we can’t give up. Tani and Junior need us now.”

Steve nods and shoves aside his rising panic.

Jerry had called for backup from HPD as soon as they lost the security cameras, and consequently the building was surrounded before Junior and Tani vanished, but a thorough search confirms they’re no longer inside, even though they didn’t go out any of the exits. It also turns out that no one other than Steve and Danny saw two people disappear into thin air.

Eventually, there’s no choice but to abandon the scene and return to HQ to review the scant evidence for what feels like the thousandth time.

Their teammates have been missing for seven hours when an unknown number calls Steve’s phone. He answers it quickly, desperately hoping for some kind of miraculous lead.

“Hello Commander.” It’s a female voice that Steve is unfamiliar with. “I have something of yours.”

“What do you want?” Steve asks, placing the phone on the smart table so the others can hear the call and try to trace it.

“I’m about to send you an address. You and the rest of Five-0 will come immediately, unaccompanied and unarmed, and you will tell no one. If you fail to abide by these rules, your two lovely young officers will die. You have forty minutes.”

Steve takes a moment to make note of the current time. “How do I know you won’t just kill us all anyway?”

“I suppose you’ll have to take my word for it when I say that’s not my idea of fun.”

“I need proof of life.”

“Very well.”

There’s a brief silence followed by agonized screaming, one male and one female voice. While it’s impossible to know for certain, Steve strongly believes it’s Junior and Tani.

Before Steve gets a chance to express his anger, the mystery caller announces, “Thirty-eight minutes,” then hangs up.

Two seconds later, an address pops up. There’s no time for debate if they’re going to make it there by the deadline, but apparently there’s no need; Danny and Lou are already removing their weapons. Steve quickly follows suit and then they’re all heading out of the building, Steve and Danny to the Camaro and Lou and Jerry to Lou’s SUV.

In the car, Danny is quiet for five minutes before he speaks up. “Obviously we don’t have a choice, but you know this is nuts, right? There’s some seriously weird stuff going on with this case, and despite what that wack job just said, we could all be about to end up dead.”

“I know,” Steve acknowledges, staring straight ahead while white-knuckling the steering wheel. There’s really nothing else to say, so they remain silent for the rest of the journey to what appears to be a vacant warehouse.

When the four of them enter the building, they’re met with the unbelievable sight of Tani and Junior hanging upside down in mid-air, with no visible means of support. They’re barely conscious but have no obvious injuries. Standing beneath them is a middle-aged woman wearing strange robes; she looks like an extra from a Harry Potter movie. Understandably, they have all paused just inside the doorway, but they begin to move forward again as the strange woman beckons them closer. However, when they’re about ten feet away she makes a complicated hand gesture and Steve is suddenly frozen in place, unable to move or speak. He assumes his teammates are all similarly affected.

The woman, the _witch_ a part of Steve’s brain insists, although he feels stupid just thinking it, approaches Steve with a disturbingly excited smile. “Commander McGarrett,” she greets him, before turning her gaze to Danny, who is as usual right by Steve’s side. “Detective Williams. How lovely to meet you. Of all the people in the club last night, you two were my favorites, the pair with the most profound bond, but sadly you were never close enough to each other for me to grab you both, and I didn’t have the time to rework my translocation spell to take only one, so I was forced to improvise and take your friends instead. But you’re here now, and we’re going to have so much fun.”

Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all. But the witch suddenly frowns and gets a faraway look in her eyes.

“Damn it,” she says angrily. “Some uninvited guests have arrived and are trying to break my wards, so we aren’t going to be able to get to know each other after all. But perhaps I have just enough time to give you a lovely parting gift.”

The witch reaches out with both hands, placing one on Steve’s face and the other on Danny’s. She mutters something and Steve feels an unpleasant itchy sensation pass across the entire surface of his skin. Then she literally disappears from the room and Junior and Tani plummet to the ground, landing awkwardly and letting out pained groans. Steve is able to move again, but just as he’s about to step forward to check on the youngest members of the team, Danny abruptly drops to his knees and lets out a piercing scream, eyes tightly closed as he clutches at his head.

Steve immediately drops down beside his partner, automatically reaching out to touch his face. The moment he makes contact, Danny stops screaming, which is a huge relief. Steve has seen Danny badly hurt many times, but he’s never heard him make a noise that awful before. Danny is now trembling and taking shuddering breaths, but he meets Steve’s eyes and gives him a weak smile.

“That was very strange and highly unpleasant,” Danny comments mildly. “But I’m okay now.”

Steve lets go of Danny and glances over to see Lou and Jerry checking on Tani and Junior. Jerry is muttering about being unable to call for help due to a lack of service. Steve is halfway to standing when he’s hit by the most excruciating agony he’s ever experienced in his life, all centered in his head. He can’t focus on anything else, but suspects he might be screaming as his knees hit the ground again. Mercifully, the pain stops as soon as Danny’s hand lands on his face.

“What the hell?” Steve gasps.

Danny frowns. “I think I’m sensing a pattern here,” he says, before pointedly removing his hand from Steve’s cheek. Sure enough, Danny starts screaming again just seconds later, but stops as soon as Steve touches him.

This is bad, this is very, very bad. How the hell are they supposed to function if they can’t let go of each other? Steve looks over at his teammates again, to find Lou still occupied with their injured officers while Jerry’s worried gaze shifts back and forth between both pairs. Then there are suddenly two extra people in the room, a man and a woman, both wearing strange white robes.

“Hello,” the woman says. “Please don’t be alarmed. I’m Zorina and this is my colleague, Hadwin. We’re here to help.”

Hadwin approaches Tani and waves his hands over her. After a few seconds, she sits up, looking stressed but unhurt. He repeats the process with Junior.

Meanwhile, Zorina is approaching Steve and Danny. “Let’s take a look at you,” she says.

“Who _are_ you?” Steve asks.

“We’re Guardians. What you might call magical law enforcement. We’ve been pursuing the witch that did this for a long time, and trying to undo some of the damage she’s caused.”

“Can you bring back the dead?” Danny questions sharply.

“No,” Zorina replies sadly. She frowns. “Unfortunately, I’m also unable to lift this curse.”

“What?” Steve feels the looming threat of hysteria building up inside him; magic is _real_ and it’s just been used to _put a curse on them_. Danny is also looking a little wild around the eyes.

“I’m sorry. But this curse already has a built in mechanism for ending it, which means it can’t be broken any other way.”

“So what do we need to do?” Steve asks. He’s aware that the rest of the team has moved closer by this point, presumably to listen in.

“I’m sure you have already deduced that when separated, one of you will be incapacitated by pain until reunited with the other. This suffering will alternate between you. For every second of skin to skin contact, you will be able to spend the same amount of time apart before the pain hits. It’s cumulative, so if you maintain contact for as much of the day as possible, eventually you will build up enough time to spend significant periods apart. Should you manage to accumulate a whole year’s worth of time, the curse will be broken.”

Danny laughs uncontrollably. “A _year_?” he asks incredulously. “Obviously we can’t be in constant contact, so that would probably take decades. I guess we’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”

“I can help with that,” Zorina says. She waves her hands over Steve’s left forearm then reaches out to tap it twice. A series of numbers appears. “Days, hours, minutes, seconds,” she explains, pointing at each one. Steve watches in fascination as the seconds tick up. “Tap twice to switch between visible and invisible, although only the people currently in this room will be able to see this, except for other witches and wizards of course.”

“Of course,” Danny repeats sarcastically.

Zorina ignores him and reaches out to repeat the process of ‘installing’ the timer on Danny’s arm.

“Is there anything else we need to know?” Steve asks.

“Yeah,” Danny butts in. “Like will this end if one of us dies, or would the other one have to carry around some sort of fucked up human leather memento?”

Steve shudders. He’s pretty sure everyone present is staring at Danny in horror.

Danny is unrepentant. “What? It’s a valid question.”

Zorina shakes her head. “No, that wouldn’t be necessary. The curse will indeed end if one of you is no longer alive.”

Steve considers this for a moment. “So what if we temporarily stop my heart?”

Zorina looks horrified. Maybe she’s not familiar with defibrillators. “No, it must be a permanent death, which does not occur until the soul has departed. There’s no coming back from that. But there is something else you should know… even the smallest amount of skin to skin contact will count, even just fingertip to fingertip, but more intimate forms of touching will accrue time at a faster rate; thirty seconds for one second of kissing, and sixty seconds for one second of sexual activity.”

An awkward silence descends.

Eventually, Danny clears his throat. “Let’s call that the emergency backup plan.”

Steve nods while carefully avoiding looking Danny in the eye.

Zorina looks around at the whole team. “Finally, I must ask all of you not to inform anyone that magic exists. Ordinarily we would have already wiped your memories of today’s events, but due to the curse that isn’t an option. If you tell anyone else, we will have no choice but to show up and remove the knowledge from them, which is a huge inconvenience for all involved.”

Lou speaks up. “No need to worry. No one would believe us anyway.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Tani says. “This is all completely bananas. What the hell are we going to tell HPD and the governor?”

Hadwin speaks up. “May I make a suggestion? Inform the authorities that you located the murderer but he was killed by a trap that backfired and set the building alight. You all narrowly escaped with your lives. After you leave, Zorina and I will destroy this place with a fire so intense that the lack of a body won’t raise any concerns.”

“That could work,” Lou says.

“Fine,” Steve agrees. “Do it, thank you. I hope you catch that crazy witch.”

Zorina smiles. “Oh, don’t worry about that. We have two more colleagues who were able to follow when she translocated. She’s probably already in custody and I promise you she will be severely punished.”

“She’d better be,” Danny mutters darkly. He takes Steve’s free hand with his own, so Steve finally lets go of his partner’s face and they get to their feet.

As they walk from the building hand in hand, Steve realizes that he’s actually enjoying the contact quite a lot. This situation could turn out to be even more challenging than he’d initially thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Obviously they have to let go of each other in order to get into the car, which they do as quickly as possible. Once they’re inside, Danny hesitates for a moment before reaching over and resting the heel of his hand on Steve’s shoulder so that his fingertips are pressed against Steve’s neck. It feels oddly intimate and Steve has to suppress a shiver. It probably is the best way to touch someone who’s driving without getting in their way, so he’s going to have to get used to it.

Steve and Lou drive their vehicles to a safe distance from which to watch the warehouse burn to the ground. It’s all over in an incredibly short amount of time. Through their open windows, Steve asks Lou to update HPD while Steve calls Governor Mahoe. Given what they’ve all been through, even just according to the official story, the governor agrees for Five-0 to stand down completely for the next week.

After both calls are done, Lou drives away but Steve remains stationary for now. He turns to look at Danny, to find his partner looking back at him with an unreadable expression.

“So,” Steve begins, “we have a week to try to build up a comfortable cushion of time and I suggest we spend as much of it as possible maintaining physical contact. Your place or mine?”

Danny responds quickly, “Mine. It’s going to be weird enough having to constantly be all over each other without having Junior underfoot.” Danny laughs. “Thank god we’re both recently single.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees with a chuckle of his own, imagining how unimpressed Lynn would have been to learn that he has a whole week off work but intends to spend all of it with Danny.

“Also, I never thought I’d be so glad that the kids won’t be back from visiting Rachel’s mother in England for another three weeks. Hopefully by then, we’ll have enough time banked that we won’t have to stay together overnight, and I won’t have to think up an explanation for why Danno is suddenly sharing a bed with Uncle Steve.”

“Right.” Steve struggles to avoid having a visible reaction. Although logically he’d already known that was going to be necessary, hearing Danny say it, while he is of course still touching Steve, is somehow very different. He distracts himself by starting the car and setting off for his place so he can pack a bag before heading over to Danny’s. They’re uncharacteristically silent during the journey.

It feels slightly reckless at this early stage, but Steve tells Danny to wait in the car while he goes inside, on the basis that the packing process will be much faster if he’s alone, which is true, but also, he just needs a moment to try to center himself. His bizarre new reality is overwhelming to say the least. He makes the timer visible and keeps a watchful eye as the numbers count down instead of up. They lose approximately eight minutes before Steve returns to the car. It would’ve been less if not for the need to say goodbye to Eddie. Steve had deliberated for a moment over whether to bring him along but had ultimately decided that Junior, who isn’t home yet, could probably use the company while Steve is gone.

As soon as he’s back in the car, Danny reaches for him immediately and Steve feels a deep sense of relief as he watches the timer moving in the other direction again for a few seconds before he makes it invisible. Once again, they don’t talk during the journey to Danny’s place.

Steve is absurdly pleased when Danny takes his hand again once they’re out of the car, apparently unconcerned about what the neighbors might think if they see. Once they’re inside the house, Danny leads Steve directly to his bedroom, where he dumps his bag on the bed.

Danny pauses uncertainly for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve barely slept since we first starting working this messed up case. What do you say we get the most embarrassing part of this whole situation out of the way by taking a nap right now?”

It’s not even noon, but Steve truly is exhausted by this point, so he casually agrees, like it’s no big deal. Danny hands him his bag back and shoos him into the bathroom. When he returns to the bedroom less than two minutes later, they’ve both changed into shorts and t-shirts but bizarrely, Danny is sitting on the end of the bed holding one of his ties.

Steve raises a curious eyebrow at him.

Danny clears his throat. “I uh, thought maybe we should tie our hands together to make sure we don’t let go and wake up screaming.”

That’s actually not a bad idea, but Steve is suddenly hit with an inconvenient flashback to the early days of their partnership, when he had entertained various fantasies involving those damn ties before eventually forcing himself to put a stop to any such thoughts regarding his straight best friend. Although in the intervening years, he’s been restrained a few too many times under horrendous circumstances to maintain much interest in doing it recreationally. In any case, thankfully he’s an expert in preventing inappropriate thoughts from being reflected on his face, so Danny is still just expectantly waiting for a response.

“Good idea,” he says calmly.

Danny looks relieved as he shuffles backwards to the top of the bed. There’s a spare pillow in a vertical position in the center, forming a flimsy barrier of sorts, which Steve doesn’t comment on. Danny rolls onto his side and places his top hand on that pillow. Steve mirrors the position, placing his hand on top of Danny’s. It requires a brief discussion and a lot of cooperation, but before too long they succeed in tying a secure quick release knot around their wrists. Steve is so tired that he soon finds himself drifting off despite the stress of this highly unusual state of affairs.

When he wakes an indeterminate amount of time later, although their hands are exactly where they left them, they’ve shifted closer together so that the barrier pillow is somewhat squashed but still successfully maintaining some distance between their torsos. Their legs however are tangled together. Danny is still peacefully asleep so Steve just stays put and allows himself to drift off again.

The next time he wakes, it’s because his stomach is growling. Danny is awake and has restored the previous distance between them. He’s occupied with something on his phone but smiles and sets it aside when he notices Steve watching him.

“Hey,” Danny greets him, and Steve is totally unprepared for how sexy his sleep-roughened voice is when combined with the fact that they’re lying in bed together and touching each other, regardless of how innocent that contact currently is. It’s been less than a day and he’s already starting to worry about how quickly these feelings that Steve believed he’d successfully conquered years ago are all rushing back. Oblivious to Steve’s turmoil, Danny continues, “I ordered pizza a while ago. Should be here in fifteen.”

“Great,” he replies, happy to have something else to focus on. “I’m starving.”

“I heard,” Danny says with amusement. Then he closes his eyes, seemingly content to grab some more rest while they wait for their dinner to arrive.

Steve shuts his eyes too so he’s not at risk of being caught staring at his partner in a way that at best would be considered creepy and at worst might reveal his innermost thoughts. After a while, he feels the knot still tying their hands together abruptly release. Danny excuses himself and wanders off into the bathroom. The pizza arrives while he’s gone. Steve’s suspicion that this was a deliberate move to get him to pay is confirmed when Danny smirks at him as he joins him in the living room, but for once, neither of them mentions it.

Danny sits down close enough to press their bare calves together so they can keep their hands free while they eat. Afterwards, they settle in to watch a couple of movies. Danny chooses and Steve isn’t really paying attention so he couldn’t say what they are. They start out just sitting close with their arms barely brushing, but eventually end up pressed tightly together with Steve’s arm around Danny and Danny’s head on his shoulder. This part at least is nothing out of the ordinary.

Later that night, after about five minutes of separation while they each take a turn in the bathroom, they return to their earlier position, lying face to face in bed with their arms tied together atop the pillow intended to prevent them from getting too close.

But when Steve wakes in the morning, somehow the pillow has been pushed to the bottom of the bed and they’re cuddled up against each other as much as they can be given the slightly awkward position of their arms, still bound and trapped between them. Even their foreheads are pressed together. Steve carefully backs away and uses his feet to retrieve the pillow so he can put it back where it was. He then makes the executive decision that they’ve slept long enough and gently shakes Danny with his free hand in order to wake him.

Danny grumbles a little before grudgingly agreeing to get out of bed. It’s the least he can do considering that Steve is sacrificing his normal exercise routine so that they can rack up as much time as possible in these first few days of the curse. Steve does however insist on clearing a space in the living room so that they can do a few strength exercises and stretches that are easily completed while maintaining some form of direct physical contact with each other. Aerobic exercise is a bit more tricky and will have to wait.

They separate while Steve takes his usual three minute shower. Then, shockingly, Danny proves that he is in fact capable of doing the same. As they’re not going anywhere, Danny leaves his hair product-free, which is a rare sight to behold. Neither of them bother to shave either. Even just brushing your teeth while someone else is somehow holding on or pressed against you feels uncomfortably domestic. The same goes for preparing meals and any other household chores that crop up as the day goes by. It’s incredibly weird.

Just for ease, they spend the majority of the day in front of the TV, although sometimes they end up ignoring whatever is on in favor of talking to each other about nothing too serious. They both seem to be getting a bit restless and frequently shift positions, finding new ways to maintain contact while also avoiding being constantly right up in each other’s space. For a while, they sit as far apart as the length of their arms will allow, with just the tips of their fingers touching. Towards the end of the night, Danny moves even further away, stretches out his legs and rests his bare foot on Steve’s arm. He allows it without comment.

Once again, at some point during the night, their pillow barrier gets discarded and they end up a lot closer than they were when they fell asleep. The key difference is that this time they wake up at more or less the same time, and Danny immediately jerks backwards in a way that tugs on their joined hands. Steve says nothing as Danny unfastens the tie and escapes into the bathroom.

Steve can’t face the idea of another day cooped up in the house, so after they’re done with exercise, showering, and breakfast, he suggests they go camping for the rest of their week off, explaining that he knows a nice isolated place where hopefully there won’t be anyone who might recognize them while they’re constantly engaged in what would appear to be public displays of affection. Either Danny is also going stir-crazy, or he’s finding Steve’s level of restlessness extremely annoying, because he agrees without putting up much of a fight.

After a brief stop at Steve’s to pick up his truck and camping equipment, and a quick catch up with Junior and Eddie, they head for the great outdoors. Spending most of the rest of the day hiking through a beautiful forest, while holding Danny’s hand and not talking very much at all, greatly improves Steve’s mood. Danny doesn’t even complain very much. Best of all, when they retire to their two-person tent for the night, there’s much less danger of them getting quite so awkwardly close to each other while they’re in separate sleeping bags with just their tethered hands on the outside.

However, as the days go by, the near constant touching is slowly driving Steve insane and making him forget all the very good reasons he ruthlessly squashed his feelings for Danny a long time ago. On the last night before they’re due to return to civilization, as they’re sitting by their campfire before bed, he impulsively decides to broach a sensitive subject while they’re still on neutral ground.

“So,” he starts, “I’ve been thinking…”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Danny immediately interjects with a grin.

Steve ignores him. “I’ve been thinking, in case we ever end up in a situation where we’re running short on time, it would be helpful to know in advance if what Zorina said about intimate touching is actually true.”

Danny’s smile falls away. “What exactly are you proposing?” he asks quietly.

“Just a kiss. Maybe five seconds?”

Danny is silent for a while before eventually murmuring, “Okay.”

“Okay,” Steve repeats, trying not to show his surprise. He taps his arm to make the timer appear. They’re sitting side by side with their arms touching, but as they turn to face each other, Steve quickly places his other hand on Danny’s face. Despite this being his idea, and having received Danny’s approval, he still hesitates for a moment before leaning in to brush their lips together. At first, Danny is unmoving, but ends up returning the gentle pressure for a few seconds before pulling away.

They both glance down at the timer, discovering that they’ve gained just over three minutes.

“Great experiment,” Danny says with remarkable nonchalance, “and I enjoy science as much as the next guy, but just to be clear, I am _not_ having sex with you. We’ll have to take Zorina at her word on that one.”

“Fair enough,” Steve says with a laugh, pretending that he’s both totally unaffected by the kiss and that he finds the notion of them having sex as equally ridiculous as Danny apparently does, when in actual fact it’s something he desperately desires. He’s not sure why he decided to torture himself this way, or how much longer he’s going to be able to continue to keep up this charade.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny wonders what he’s done to deserve such incredibly bad luck. Just learning in such a traumatic fashion that magic is real might have been enough to break a lot of people, but no, of course that’s not enough, Danny has to go and get himself cursed. He genuinely thought he finally had a handle on his unrequited love for his ridiculously attractive partner, but now he’s been forced into a situation where he has to constantly have his hands all over the guy.

The first few days are the worst, trying to accept that this is his life now, while he and Steve touch each other as much as possible so that they can try to have some semblance of a normal life later. Having Steve in his house, in his bed, and looming beside him throughout the day is a cruel mockery of what Danny really wants, and it’s an enormous challenge to behave as if it’s not the most torturous thing he’s ever experienced. He automatically recoils the first time he wakes up to find them pressed right up against each other, terrified that Steve will realize the truth.

Things get a little easier once they get out of the house for their spontaneous camping trip. They’re still in each other’s space incessantly, but he no longer feels quite so trapped. But then Steve has to go and suggest that they test the conditions of the curse. Considering the likelihood that someday one or both of them might end up abducted and kept apart for god knows how long, Danny is forced to agree that it makes sense to know for sure that there’s a way to boost the time they can be separated. Still, he thinks he probably deserves an Oscar for the way he acts as though the kiss is no big deal, when the reality is that it’s simultaneously one of the most wonderful and most heartbreaking experiences of his life.

Returning to work is something of a relief, but they do have some adjusting to do. Although the entire team is aware of the situation, they still try to find ways to keep the necessary contact between them subtle; it’s a good habit to get into so that they can hopefully get away with casually touching each other in front of others in a way that won’t raise any eyebrows. Generally, this involves just standing very close with their forearms and/or the backs of their hands brushing against each other. Occasionally, Steve does something unexpected, probably just to try to get Danny to react. Naturally, Danny is determined to ignore this behavior, even when it’s something that objectively speaking is embarrassingly adorable, like linking their pinky fingers together. Unless his overgrown child of a partner does something that’s actually inappropriate, Danny is going to pretend he’s unruffled. When this type of thing occurs, Lou frequently catches Danny’s eye and gives him a commiserating look. Tani and Junior on the other hand seem to find it hilarious, while Jerry is often oblivious.

As the weeks go by, they’re gradually able to increase the amount of time they spend apart. More time alone in the bathroom is Danny’s first priority, while Steve’s is incrementally longer periods of time for running and swimming. After the first week, they alternate between their homes, comfortable enough now with the idea of being together around Junior.

By the time Grace and Charlie get home, there is indeed enough time built up that sharing a bed during the weeks that Danny has custody is not necessary. Their logic is that as long as they get in at least twelve hours a day of physical contact, they’re staying ahead of the problem. Still, even when Danny has the kids, they’re hanging out a lot more than usual. Steve even crashes on the couch sometimes. Eventually, Grace apparently decides that she can no longer ignore the fact that the way Danny and Steve interact with each other has changed; she confronts Danny about it, asking why he doesn’t just let Steve spend the night in his room. It’s incredibly difficult to convince her that there genuinely isn’t anything more than a freakishly close friendship going on, but when she does accept it, Grace looks almost as disappointed as Danny feels. She wanders off, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like “Urgh, boys are _so_ stupid.”

When Danny doesn’t have the kids, he and Steve do still sleep together in the most literal sense. Danny has come to dread it, but suffers through it because it would be difficult to argue that it doesn’t make sense to take advantage of all those hours. After the second week, they abandoned tying themselves together, as it had become abundantly clear that they naturally gravitate towards each other anyway. Plus, once they had some time built up, it wasn’t quite so critical that they not let go during the night. Danny is surprised that Steve doesn’t seem to mind waking up completely intertwined with each other, but then his partner has always demonstrated a total lack of understanding as to what the normal boundaries of friendship look like. They both resolutely ignore the occasional embarrassing morning wood situation.

However, in Danny’s opinion, if you spend enough time with a person, particularly if you’re touching them all the time, frequently sharing a bed, and don’t have any other outlet for your natural urges, it’s inevitable that your thoughts will eventually start wandering in a dangerous direction. He’s pretty sure he’s already seen Steve looking at him differently a few times, but Danny has no interest in risking their unique and precious friendship by entering into a friends with benefits arrangement. He has been in love with Steve for years, has come to terms with the fact that his partner is never going to feel the same way, and is absolutely determined that he’s not going to torment himself by allowing himself to have Steve’s body but not his heart.

Therefore, eight weeks after the curse is inflicted upon them, while they’re investigating the death of Steve’s friend from the CIA and Danny learns of Steve’s history with Agent Greer, it’s an act of desperate self-preservation when Danny encourages his partner to hook up with her again.

“I need you to stop living like a monk, okay?” he finds himself saying.

Steve gives him the stink eye. “In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t exactly had the time for a new relationship while I have to be with you constantly.”

“Who said anything about a relationship? Some time when I have the kids, you should go out and get yourself laid.” Before the nearest warm body starts to seem like the most appealing option, he thinks but does not say.

Steve frowns unhappily. “That’s not me. Don’t you know that by now? Besides, what about you? Melissa broke up with you weeks before Lynn and I called it quits.”

Danny shrugs. “I’ve been married. I’m used to going without.”

Steve laughs and shakes his head. “As much as I appreciate the completely misplaced concern, I’m fine. Can you just drop it please?”

Danny huffs in frustration but magnanimously decides to let it go for now.

Much later, while Steve’s most spectacularly insane plan yet - allowing himself to be captured and brainwashed - is in motion, Danny finds himself pacing anxiously and forlornly watching the numbers on his arm going down. They have forty-one days by this point, but it doesn’t make it any easier to see the time disappearing.

Lou suddenly speaks up, advising him to settle down. “I feel you, man,” the big man continues. “That’s my brother in there too, you know.”

Danny lets out a rueful laugh. “Respectfully, you can’t possibly understand. Since the damn curse, Steve is like a part of me. Being away from each other is difficult now at the best of times, so under these circumstances… I can’t even begin to describe how it feels.”

Lou eyes him sympathetically and gestures at the timer. “Maybe you should turn that off. You’re just making yourself crazy.”

“Yeah,” Danny agrees, reluctantly following Lou’s suggestion.

“How are you doing with that whole thing anyway?” Lou asks. “We never really talk about it.”

There’s no way in hell Danny is going to discuss the stress the curse is causing him with anyone on the team. “Thank you for the concern,” he says. “But I don’t want to talk about it right now either.”

Luckily, Lou doesn’t attempt to force the issue and they fall silent for a while, until all the inevitable mayhem begins.

Danny and Steve have been separated for more than six hours, which is a record for a period of time with no sleeping involved, before Danny finds himself saving Steve from a watery death. He finally gets to stop the depressing countdown as he grabs Steve’s hand to help him out of the tank. Shortly after, he grasps Steve’s chin to turn his face towards Danny and then leaves his hand right there.

“What’s my name?” he worriedly asks his clearly befuddled partner.

Steve stares at him for a moment before breathlessly replying, “Danny,” as if it’s a revelation. Then the gigantic menace leans in and attempts to initiate a kiss.

Danny definitely can’t allow that while Steve’s brain is obviously even more scrambled than usual, so he turns his head to prevent it, pressing their cheeks together instead. He moves his hands so that one is on the back of Steve’s neck to keep him close while Danny pets his hair with the other. “I’ve got you buddy,” he murmurs.

They remain that way without speaking until the rest of the team arrives, at which point Danny shifts to sit beside Steve and takes his hand again, happy to focus on the discussion regarding Steve’s ridiculous plan rather than continuing to contemplate how near and yet so far he is from having the kind of closeness that he really craves with his partner.


	4. Chapter 4

The suffering Steve underwent during the first week of the curse pales into insignificance during the third week, after Danny decides that they no longer need to tie their wrists together at night. Although they obviously never start out that way, now that there’s nothing restricting their movement, they almost always end up locked in a tight embrace of some sort by the morning. Sometimes they’re even spooning. As Steve is more often than not the first to wake, he suspects that Danny is blissfully unaware of exactly how frequently their morning erections have been in contact with various parts of each other’s bodies. It’s extremely frustrating and he’s actually very relieved to get a reprieve every other week once the kids return to the island.

Not that spending time with the kids, as wonderful as it is, doesn’t present other challenges; Steve has seen Grace giving him and Danny speculative looks sometimes. On occasion he thinks she might have seen him gazing fondly at his partner when Danny’s attention is elsewhere, and it feels like Grace is able to see right through him. She doesn’t say anything to Steve about it, but he still finds the situation very stressful.

Steve regularly reminds himself that what happens while sharing a bed doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but as the weeks go by, he starts daring to dream that Danny isn’t as uninterested as he initially appeared. It’s possible Steve is imagining it, but he thinks he might have detected some hints of longing in the way Danny looks at him in rare unguarded moments.

However, his hopes are dashed when Danny encourages Steve to seek a one-night stand. That seems like a fairly definitive indication that Danny doesn’t want Steve for himself. The final nail in the coffin is Danny dodging Steve’s attempt to kiss him after the sensory deprivation tank incident. Steve was thoroughly disoriented and confused at the time, but as he reflects back on it, he’s aware that the moment he’d recognized Danny, he’d been completely overcome by the intensity of his love for him. The subsequent rejection is unspeakably painful.

So Steve resigns himself to the task of meticulously rebuilding the wall around his heart that had stood firm for years before the curse took a wrecking ball to it. He can’t afford to ruin his vitally important friendship with Danny due to his pathetic pining. Now that they have more than a month of time stored, he figures that they can start spending more time apart, which should make things a little easier.

Danny’s surprise is obvious when Steve sends him out with Tani and Junior to look for Jack Teague and his kidnapper. It’s the first time since they were cursed that Steve has deliberately separated them at work. While it’s true that it will be beneficial for everyone for Danny to have more opportunities to pass on his knowledge and skills to their relatively inexperienced teammates, it also provides a much needed chance for Steve to get some breathing room and shore up his defenses. When Greer threatens to expose the Morocco mission, it’s a timely reminder of how dangerous it is to be close to Steve. He concludes that even if Danny did want to be with him, his partner would be better off not getting any more involved than they already are, so it’s all for the best.

A week later, the island is gripped by a heatwave and everyone is starting to get irritable. Steve and Danny agree to let some of their time run down so that they don’t have to touch each other so much; physical contact with another person while you’re already feeling too hot is intolerable. Since there’s no A/C at Steve’s place, they sleep at Danny’s, but even then, the lingering stresses of the scorching days results in them feeling disinclined to get as close as usual, so they end up literally keeping each other at arm’s length across the bed and taping their pinky fingers together to maintain the smallest possible area of contact.

Time marches on, weeks turning into months, being kept busy by work and the restaurant. Steve has successfully locked his inconvenient emotions back behind the wall where they belong, and he feels like his relationship with Danny is pretty much back to its pre-curse state. Sure, they’re still touching each other a lot more than they did in the past, but it’s become second nature by now, just an unremarkable part of life. Things that once seemed novel, like pressing their bare feet together under the table during meals at home, now barely even register on Steve’s radar. Waking up curled around each other becomes easier to deal with once Steve starts thinking of sharing a bed as no more than a medically necessary activity.

After Steve and Danny work together to resolve Chang Apana’s last cold case, it’s a relief to discover that they’re both on the same page when it comes to selling the restaurant to Kamekona so that they can focus on what they’re really good at, which is solving crimes. Having one less source of stress in your life is never a bad thing.

Two weeks later, Danny leaves the island for the first time since they were cursed, to travel to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. Even though they’ve been spending more time apart lately, somehow the distance makes this separation feel a lot different. But Steve is fine. He absolutely is not pining, he just misses his best friend the way he always has when he’s away. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.


	5. Chapter 5

When Danny learns that Steve has conspired with the rest of the team to conceal the fact that he was almost killed in his own kitchen before running off to intentionally confront a team of highly trained and very well armed hitmen, he’s completely furious. It was stressful enough just being such a long distance away from Steve while touring colleges with Grace, so the knowledge that Steve could easily have died while Danny was obliviously moping around and missing the idiot is incredibly hard to stomach.

In the wake of the deaths of Joe and the rest of the Morocco team, he tries to be understanding and give Steve the space he clearly wants, but the longer they’re separated, the more anxious and distressed Danny becomes. He checks the timer probably a lot more than is healthy. When they’re down to only ten days, he informs his partner that enough is enough and he’s coming to join him, but Steve assures him that it’s not necessary and he’ll be home in a day or two. This turns out to be an outright lie, one that Steve repeats several times, until finally, over a month after Steve left Oahu, Danny genuinely has no choice but to get on a plane.

When he arrives at the ranch in Montana, Danny gets out of the car quickly and immediately stalks towards Steve, yelling as he does, “What the hell is the matter with you? Do you even realize how little time we have left?”

By this point, he’s close enough to grab Steve’s left arm and tap it none-too-gently, clearly displaying the troubling reality that less than three hours remain. “Are you _trying_ to hurt yourself?” he growls, before really looking at Steve for the first time. His rage immediately subsides. “Oh, babe,” he says softly as he reaches out to pull Steve into a hug, settling one hand on his back and pressing the other to the skin at the back of his neck. “What happened here was not your fault.”

Steve remains tense in his arms. It’s a bit like hugging a statue, until Steve eventually relaxes enough to return the embrace.

“I know you’ve been through a lot,” Danny continues. “But I really wish you hadn’t lied to me.”

Steve flinches. “I couldn’t have done what needed to be done if you were with me,” he says, before pulling back just enough to meet Danny’s eyes. “And I’m not finished yet.” Steve’s gaze drops down to Danny’s lips as he whispers, “I need more time.”

Damn it all to hell, that’s the last thing Danny needs right now, but he can’t deny that the current lack of a comfortable margin is making him feel extremely uneasy. So he sighs before nodding his assent.

Steve instantly swoops down while grabbing Danny’s head with both hands, drawing him into a kiss. It’s slow and gentle, polite even, which makes sense given that this is just a means to an end, one that they need to prolong for as long as possible. However, after maybe thirty seconds, it’s like a switch gets flipped, and Steve launches a desperate and blisteringly hot attack on Danny’s mouth.

Danny is frozen by indecision for a moment, trying to figure out whether he’s enough of a masochist to allow this to continue, when the choice is made for him by a shocked sounding “Oh,” from somewhere off to the side of them.

Steve breaks the kiss but doesn’t release Danny or move back at all.

Despite Steve’s grasp on him, Danny is able to turn his head enough to see the source of the interruption. “Catherine…" he says, feeling totally mortified. “Hey. I didn’t know you were here.”

Steve chooses this moment to let go, but immediately takes Danny’s hand and starts leading him towards the building, passing right by Catherine. She was already looking thoroughly astonished, but her eyes widen even further as she observes this behavior.

A short time later, Danny finds himself sitting alone with Catherine after Steve shuts himself away to do god knows what to Omar Hassan’s lawyer.

Catherine clears her throat. “So, I didn’t know. But I promise you, nothing happened between…”

“Stop,” Danny interjects. “It wouldn’t matter if something did happen. Despite what you just saw, Steve and I are not romantically involved.”

“So, what? It’s a friends with benefits thing?” Catherine’s skepticism is obvious.

Danny sighs. “No. We’ve never had sex, and I’m putting that kiss down to temporary insanity.” He pauses, trying to come up with a way to explain when it’s impossible to tell her the truth. “The hand holding is just a comfort thing. I’m like a human security blanket.”

“That’s… the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And that didn’t look like insanity to me. When this is all over, you should talk to him.”

“Thank you for the advice,” Danny says with an air of finality.

Catherine takes the hint and they lapse into silence, awkwardly listening to the horrific sounds coming from inside the building. When Steve emerges, he takes a moment to clean his hands but then immediately returns to Danny’s side and takes his hand again. Catherine stares pointedly for a moment but doesn’t comment, focusing instead on the discussion regarding their plans to travel to Laos.

When the conversation is over, Steve drags Danny with him to the nearest bathroom. He starts gathering what he needs to shave, clearly expecting Danny to remain by his side while he does, so they can gain as much time as possible. Danny shrugs his jacket off before gently taking the collected items out of Steve’s hands.

“If I’m going to be here, I might as well help,” he says, regretting it almost as soon as the words leave his mouth. Volunteering to do something so intimate is truly crazy.

Steve stares at him for a long moment before nodding and moving to sit on the closed toilet lid. He reaches out to lightly press the fingers of his right hand against the underside of Danny’s left arm near the elbow; maintaining contact without restricting his movement. Danny focuses his full attention on his task and avoids looking Steve in the eye, until eventually he can’t stand the silence.

“I’ve missed you,” he says quietly. “The kids have missed you. They were disappointed you weren’t home for Christmas.”

Steve gives him a wounded look but can’t speak due to the blade against his face.

“I’m not trying to guilt-trip you. I know how important Joe was to you. But I need you to remember that you still have people who love you, a hell of a lot.”

Steve closes his eyes and seems to be very deliberately controlling his breathing. A couple of tears escape but Steve remains motionless. Danny gently wipes them away but says nothing else as he continues to work until he’s able to settle a hand against Steve’s cheek and proclaim, “All done.”

When Steve’s eyes open, there’s a brief moment, before he has any chance to moderate it, where everything he’s feeling is clearly visible. Naturally there’s a vast amount of pain, grief, and guilt, but Danny is floored by the amount of love and devotion that’s also directed at him. Holy shit.

“Danny…” Steve’s voice is shaking and his eyes are huge as they gaze into Danny’s own.

“Not now, babe,” Danny tells him softly. Steve is in no state of mind to move forward with such an enormous, life-altering event. Still, Danny can’t resist ducking down for a very quick kiss that with any luck will be a preview of better things to come.

Steve looks stunned but there’s a hopeful note in his voice as he asks, “Later?”

“Later,” Danny promises. They exchange tentative smiles before it’s time to get back to the serious matter of revenge.

On the flight to Laos, Wade Gutches openly stares at Steve and Danny’s joined hands for at least the first five minutes, then periodically throughout the journey when they never let go. Junior of course smiles contentedly like all is right in his world, at least for the time being, before the shooting has started. Having already expressed her views on the matter, Catherine seems determined to ignore it now.

Steve goes to meet Harry alone, but as soon as they’re all in the same room planning tonight’s op, Danny sees their friend’s sharp eyes taking in Danny’s proximity to Steve with interest. They’re not holding hands, but their arms are in contact as is the norm these days.

Harry sounds slightly apologetic as he tells Steve and Catherine, “For the purposes of this operation, you two… are married.”

Later, as soon as they’re alone while the others are on the way to the club, Harry turns to Danny and says, “I’m sorry, old chap. If I had known…”

“It’s fine. It would have been the best plan regardless. Besides, Steve and I are not actually together.”

Harry raises an eyebrow and smirks at him. “I’m quite certain that won’t be the case much longer.”

Danny heaves a put upon sigh. “Can we please just focus on making sure we all make it out of this alive?”

“Of course.” But Harry apparently isn’t able to resist adding, “You’re a good match for each other.”

Danny stays silent and thankfully Harry finally drops the issue. Despite what he’s been telling everyone, it isn’t easy to see Steve and Catherine together, looking every inch the perfect couple. Danny is hit by a sense of doubt and insecurity; why would Steve ever choose Danny over such a smart, beautiful, capable woman, who can give him the family Danny knows Steve wants.

It’s a relief when Steve is back by Danny’s side during the planning process for the next stage of the mission. After losing such a large amount of time in one stretch, even brief separations now leave Danny feeling on edge. It’s clear that Steve is still struggling with his emotions relating to Joe’s death. Danny prods him into talking about it and attempts to reassure him once again that he’s not responsible. Catherine catches Danny’s eye and flashes him a quick smile from her position across the room, where she’s been quietly observing them, obviously very concerned about how Steve is doing.

Danny empathizes completely; even being held at gunpoint during their raid on Hassan’s place is less stressful than his worries about Steve’s mental state. That situation definitely doesn’t get any better when Steve and Catherine end up going after and killing Greer. She might have betrayed him, but it’s still the loss of yet another person Steve once cared for.

They don’t talk much on the flight back to Hawaii, just silently drawing strength and comfort from their connected hands. That monumentally important conversation that they need to have should definitely not take place until they’re alone and have taken some time to reflect and decompress. Honestly, it might take a while for Danny to get his head around the fact that it’s even a possibility that he might actually get a chance to be with Steve the way he’s wanted for more years than he cares to admit. What’s a little more waiting compared to that?


	6. Chapter 6

For the first time in five weeks, Steve wakes up in his own bed. It’s been just as long since he slept so soundly. No doubt the fact that Danny is wrapped around him from behind was an important factor in that. Before they started sharing a bed, Steve never thought he’d enjoy being the little spoon, but he actually finds it very comforting. No one else has ever made him feel so safe.

He carefully shuffles away enough so he can roll over to face his partner at a distance that allows him to easily observe Danny’s face while he sleeps. There’s a small frown there, but it fades away as Steve settles a hand on the side of Danny’s neck.

After the long journey home, they were both so exhausted that they’d retreated to bed with the bare minimum of discussion. Steve decides to take advantage of this peaceful moment to reflect back on recent events.

Steve had known as soon as he’d made the decision to do so that Danny would be enraged about being kept in the dark about the attempt on Steve’s life and his subsequent plan to draw the hit squad out. But even now, he doesn’t regret that part. Danny’s safety is far more important than Steve’s own life. Unfortunately, while Steve was out of his mind with grief and guilt, that line of thinking had eventually led him to continue to keep Danny away; he was in such a dark place that it felt as though Steve himself was something Danny needed to be protected from.

He realizes now how twisted his thinking had been when he started lying to Danny about coming home. There was definitely a part of him that felt like he deserved to suffer; for ever trusting Greer in the first place, for failing to take it seriously when she threatened to expose the Morocco mission, for coming up with the plan that got Cole and Joe killed. It had almost been a sick test of sorts, to find out whether Danny would agree that Steve wasn’t worth rescuing from the pain of the curse.

Of course, if Danny was due to be the one to endure the consequences next, there’s nothing Steve wouldn’t do to ensure the time never runs out.

When Danny had shown up at the ranch and, despite his justifiable anger, had immediately tried to reassure Steve that he wasn’t to blame for the terrible events, it was like the first ray of light after being lost in the dark for far too long. The curse provided the perfect excuse to give in to the overwhelming desire to kiss Danny. Although that turned out to be a tactical error when the exquisite torture of that particular type of intimacy quickly revealed that the repairs to Steve’s metaphorical wall weren’t anywhere close to strong enough, resulting in the whole thing crumbling down around him and a rapid escalation of the kiss from chaste to passionate. At the time, it had seemed like Catherine’s interruption had saved Steve from what he assumed would be a negative response from Danny.

But not too much longer afterwards, Steve’s worldview was thoroughly shaken by Danny’s reaction to Steve’s inability to keep his total adoration for his partner from showing on his face following Danny’s gentle handling of Steve in that bathroom. Steve had looked past the shocked disbelief in Danny’s eyes, expecting to see sadness at the prospect of being unable to return Steve’s affections, but instead finding unmistakable longing and the beginnings of hope. But naturally, after their shortest but sweetest kiss yet, they had put the matter on pause while they had more urgent things to deal with.

Steve smiles at the memory of that last kiss, the first one initiated by Danny. When Joe had advised him not to wait to find someone, he had felt like screaming and demanding to know what you’re supposed to do when you’ve already found the perfect person but they’re not interested. Now it looks like he might get a chance to find happiness with that person after all. He’s aware that starting a romantic relationship won’t magically make all his emotional torment disappear, but getting closer than ever to Danny might allow Steve to lean on him and accept his support in a way he’s been unable to do in the past.

Danny begins to stir and after a few moments slowly opens his eyes. He seems briefly unsettled to find himself the focus of Steve’s attention; usually he’d have left by now to go swimming. Nonetheless, Danny offers Steve a sleepy smile before greeting him with a somewhat gravelly, “Hey. How are you doing?”

Steve considers this. “Better than yesterday, but worse than tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Danny says calmly, but Steve can tell he’s a little surprised and a lot impressed by Steve demonstrating such a high level of self-awareness and honesty.

Steve decides to continue while he’s on a roll. “I love you,” he says earnestly. “And I’m so tired of hiding it.”

Danny squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. When he opens them they’re suddenly glistening. He reaches out to curl one hand around Steve’s face as he utters an unsteady, “Me too.”

Steve immediately tries to pull Danny closer for a kiss, but he stubbornly resists, fixing Steve with a look that is somehow both exasperated and fond.

“Not so fast,” Danny says. “Before we do this, I need you to be one hundred percent sure that it’s really what you want.”

“Of course I’m sure,” he replies seriously. “I’ve been in love with you for _years_. If I’d thought there was any chance you felt the same way, I’d have made a move ages ago.”

Danny gives him a slightly strained smile. “I’ve been in love with you for a very long time too, and was also laboring under the misapprehension that it was unrequited. But there’s still no guarantee that this will work out and there are other factors we need to consider, like work for instance, and how it would affect the kids and our ohana if it all went wrong.”

“It’s not going to go wrong, Danny. I won’t let it.”

Danny sighs. “That’s not how it works, babe.”

“Maybe not. But I’d like to think that no matter what, we care for each other, and everyone else who would be affected, enough to find a way to salvage our friendship. We’ve been at each other’s throats before and found a way past it.”

“Okay, let’s assume for a moment that I accept your premise that we’re both too stubborn to let this all go to shit. Have you thought about what you might be giving up by being with me?”

Steve frowns. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Danny looks miserable as he says, “You might still have a shot at getting back together with Catherine, to have a family with her.”

Steve really tries, but can’t hold back a snort.

Danny glares at him. “Don’t dismiss the idea so readily. I know you still love her.”

“I do,” Steve allows. “But not the way I love you. Besides, when she took me aside to say goodbye yesterday, Cath told me to get my act together and figure out ‘whatever the hell is going on’ between you and me. As for having kids, you do know there are ways around that, right? Assuming you’re willing to entertain the idea of more kids that is. If not, Grace and Charlie are more than enough for me. I wouldn’t want you or them to ever think otherwise.”

Danny closes his eyes again, and this time a single tear escapes. He doesn’t try to stop Steve from moving near enough to gently brush it away, then wrap Danny in a hug.

They’re quiet and still for a while before Danny awkwardly clears his throat. “I love you _so much_. But I do still have one more concern - have you ever been with a guy before?”

“No,” Steve admits. He’s glad they’re having this conversation while too close to make eye contact. “But I’ve known I was attracted to men all my life. I just couldn’t risk my Navy career by ever acting on it. Then, by the time Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed, I had already fallen for you.”

“Steven,” Danny says with obviously forced evenness. “That was 2011.”

“Yes. September 20, 2011 to be precise.”

“Oh my god.” Danny’s arms tighten around Steve. “All this time?”

“All this time,” Steve confirms solemnly.

“But you were going to propose to Catherine.”

Steve shrugs as best he can while they’re still embracing. “I also loved her. And I thought you were straight. Speaking of which…”

“I’m not. But the perils of being an openly bisexual cop weren’t something I was prepared to deal with. I’ve never been in an actual relationship with a man, but I fucked a few guys in college.”

Steve is instantly insanely jealous of these unknown guys while also relieved that at least one of them knows what he’s doing, albeit maybe a bit out of practice.

Danny continues, “I know I love you enough to manage any negative attention we might attract. But have _you_ truly considered what that might be like?”

“Yes. You think I didn’t notice the way Gutch was looking at us? I think he was mostly just surprised rather than genuinely disapproving, but it did give me reason to reflect on how others might react. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me at all, but it’s not enough of a problem to keep us from moving forward.”

“Okay. And you’re not worried that you might freak out if we try to have sex?”

Steve knows this is serious, but can’t prevent a brief chuckle. “Not at all. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t exactly run screaming the first time your hard dick came into contact with me. Also, although I spent years carefully avoiding anything of the sort, since the damn curse, you’re all I think about when I…”

“Okay,” Danny interjects swiftly. “I get the picture. But if we’re going to go ahead with furthering our relationship, I think we probably need to take it slow.”

“Fine.” Steve backs away enough that they can finally look at each other. “Whatever you want, even though, personally, I think this is possibly already the longest mating dance in history.”

Danny laughs before smiling happily.

Steve is thrilled but also running out of patience. “Can I kiss you now?”

Danny lets out an overly dramatic sigh but then immediately smiles again as he nods. “Just try to behave yourself, you animal.”

Steve gives him a grin before closing the already small distance between their faces to conduct a soft, leisurely exploration of Danny’s mouth. Despite their combined morning breath, it’s fantastic. As long as he gets to have this, Steve is willing to comply with Danny’s wishes to take their time before progressing further. At least for now.


	7. Chapter 7

As the days go by, Steve seizes every possible opportunity to kiss Danny, covering the entire spectrum from quick pecks to making out like teenagers, depending on the time available. Steve’s enthusiasm for the activity has absolutely nothing to do with the curse; it’s just incredibly enjoyable and also the only form of ‘advanced’ physical intimacy that’s currently permitted. Not that he doesn’t love holding hands and cuddling, but they’ve already been doing those things for months, so kissing is the only real way to emphasize the fact that their relationship has evolved.

At Danny’s insistence, they haven’t officially informed the team yet, so they’re staying at Danny’s place away from Junior’s watchful eyes, and kissing in the vicinity of the office has been strictly forbidden. Steve hasn’t mentioned this to Danny, but he thinks their teammates have figured it out anyway; Steve feels like his happiness is radiating out of every pore, and he might not be making much effort to control the way he looks at Danny now. Still, no one has said anything yet. Maybe it’s an experiment to see how long it takes for them to admit to it.

In a bid to maintain secrecy, they don’t go on any dates outside the house, but a couple of times they dress up for a candlelit dinner painstakingly prepared by one for the other, rather than following their usual routine of preparing meals together or ordering takeout. They also spend a lot of time talking in a more open and honest way and about more personal topics than ever before. One night, they spend hours listing all the things they love about each other, and discussing the rare occasions where one of them came within a hairsbreadth of making a spontaneous declaration of love. Another time, Danny confesses that he’d had such difficulty sleeping while Steve was in Montana that he’d resorted to stealing one of his unwashed shirts and wrapping it around a pillow. Steve finds that little anecdote immensely gratifying.

Meanwhile, Steve decides that he’s not above using slightly underhanded tactics to try to weaken Danny’s resolve to take it slow, so two days after they got together, he starts sleeping shirtless. Danny retaliates by following suit the next night, which is simultaneously glorious and terrible.

On the seventh day, Steve is awoken in the middle of the night by insistent knocking on the front door. He carefully disentangles himself from a still sleeping Danny and goes to investigate. Worryingly, it’s Rachel.

“Oh, hello Steve,” she says, clearly not expecting him and possibly a little taken aback by his state of undress. “I know I should have called but I was in a panic so I just jumped in the car and came straight here.”

“What’s wrong?” Steve asks urgently, while standing aside to allow Rachel to enter the house.

“It’s Grace, she didn’t come home.”

Steve’s heart plummets. “I’ll get Danny,” he says quickly, before leaving the room to do just that.

When he returns with Danny, Rachel is staring at the couch, where there is of course no evidence to suggest Steve was sleeping there. But there’s no time to worry about what Rachel might think of that once she explains that Grace has failed to return from a party and isn’t answering her phone. It’s obvious that Danny is infuriated by the revelation that Stan bought Grace a car, but there’s no time to address that either as they focus on arranging a trace on Grace’s phone.

Arriving at the scene of an accident just in time to see Grace being loaded into an ambulance is extremely distressing for all three of them. At the hospital, Steve silently endures Danny’s crushing grip on his hand while they wait for news. The initial report that Grace is in critical condition is unbearably hard to hear.

Things only get more upsetting when the father of Grace’s new friend Katie chooses to aggressively confront Danny. Steve struggles to keep his own anger in check as he holds Danny back and tries to defuse the situation. Just when it seems the current circumstances couldn’t get any worse, Duke informs Steve that the evidence suggests that Grace was speeding and HPD’s Vehicular Homicide Section have opened an investigation and ordered a tox screen.

There’s nothing Steve wants more than to remain by Danny’s side, but he can’t say no when his partner asks him to take off to find out what happened. He’s a little concerned about the idea of leaving Danny alone with Rachel; with those two there’s no telling whether they’ll try to kill each other or precisely the opposite.

Learning that Grace’s tox screen is negative is no surprise but still a huge relief. Examining the scene and discovering evidence of foul play fills Steve with immeasurable rage, but also a steely determination to find the guilty party. He can’t let Danny and Grace down.

Much later, Steve’s blood boils once again as he watches the footage of the creepy asshole harassing Grace and Katie. Although seeing the way Grace stood up to the guy is very satisfying, Steve is still dangerously angry when he convinces the piece of human garbage to take him for a test drive. For a few moments, he genuinely considers testing the limits of his immunity and means by ‘accidentally’ killing the scumbag. But ultimately he realizes the guy isn’t worth it and Grace wouldn’t want him to lower himself to committing a murder on her behalf.

When Lou reassures him that the asshole will get jail time and Steve replies that it won’t matter if Grace doesn’t pull through, he feels absolutely wretched for even allowing the possibility to enter his mind. It simply isn’t an option. Steve doesn’t want to live in a world without Grace in it and the thought of what would become of Danny makes him want to curl up and cry. He prays with every fiber of his being for a positive outcome.

Returning to Danny’s side at the hospital and taking his hand after joining him on the floor is like a balm to Steve’s soul. His heart flips when Danny suggests that Grace might take after Steve more than Danny in some ways. He had realized earlier when referring to himself as Grace’s uncle that that’s not what he really wants; he would prefer to be viewed as one of her parents. But notwithstanding their previous discussion about hypothetical future children, it’s not something he can discuss with Danny any time soon. No doubt his partner would consider it the very definition of rushing things.

But he can and does suggest that Grace’s graduation party should take place at his house. Danny squeezes his hand and gives him a tight smile as he agrees that that sounds good.

To say that he’s overjoyed when Rachel arrives to confirm that Grace is going to be okay would be a massive understatement. The celebratory hug between the three of them is lovely, but it’s immediately overshadowed by the indescribably amazing experience of Danny giving him a tender kiss, right there in the hospital hallway with Rachel still standing beside them.

But best of all, Steve gets to be in the room with Danny and Rachel when Grace wakes up. Clearly she’s on the good drugs, as she gives them a somewhat loopy smile when her eyes land on Steve and Danny’s linked hands. Danny only has eyes for his daughter but he squeezes Steve’s hand again. Maybe Steve’s desire to redefine his place in this family isn’t such a far-fetched dream after all.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny jolts awake from a hideous nightmare of a faceless doctor uttering the words ‘dead on arrival’ and his precious little girl lying pale and still on a slab. Steve is plastered against his back, holding him tightly, which he usually finds soothing but right now feels uncomfortably confining. He cautiously wriggles away and flees into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face before leaning on the counter and staring at himself in the mirror while he tries to get his rapid breathing back under control. It’s been an extraordinarily stressful twenty-four hours.

He knows that if he’s gone too long, Steve will wake up. There’s no point in both of them missing out on sleep, so he returns to the bedroom after only a few minutes. Already, Steve’s arm is fully stretched out across the bed, unconsciously searching for him. Danny gets back into bed, lying face to face with his partner, and gently lifts Steve’s hand to place it on his shoulder. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to get back to sleep, so he just settles in to stare at Steve’s peaceful face.

There’s nothing quite like a crisis to put things in perspective. He doesn’t know why he’s been so determined to keep Steve at arm’s length; they’ve loved each other for so long that the normal rules of a developing relationship aren’t really applicable. Steve’s quiet strength and unwavering support were a godsend yesterday. In contrast, Danny and Rachel had ended up yelling at each other about Grace’s car and about Steve; Rachel refused to believe that they’ve only been together for a week and accused Danny of asking the kids to keep the relationship a secret from her. The idea of a reconciliation with Rachel, which Danny has always struggled to let go of, now seems absurdly foolish. They’ve never been right for each other. Steve on the other hand fits into the void in Danny’s life and his heart like he was always meant to be there.

As if he can sense that there’s something important going on in Danny’s head, Steve starts to stir. His ridiculous eyelashes flutter for a moment before he opens his eyes and gives Danny a soft smile. “Hey,” he says roughly. “Are you okay?”

“I had a nightmare,” Danny admits. “But I’m fine now. Just thinking about how much I love you.”

Steve’s smile brightens as he earnestly replies, “I love you too.”

Danny moves forward for a kiss that quickly morphs from a gentle expression of affection to a display of ardent desire. Groping Steve’s ass isn’t anything new, but using that grip to pull their bodies flush against each other before rocking their hips together certainly is.

“Danny…” Steve gasps, part warning and part desperate plea.

Okay, so maybe a little clarification is in order. Danny stills completely and meets Steve’s eyes as he reasserts, “Steve, I love you. And if the past day has taught me anything, it’s that we never know how much longer we’re going to get with the people we love. I think it’s already abundantly clear from the way things have been between us this past week that this _is_ going to work. Delaying what we both want for any longer would just be a huge waste of time, don’t you think?”

“God, yes.”

Danny grins and immediately resumes their heated kissing. A short time later, he finds himself pausing for a long moment to simply admire the staggeringly beautiful sight of Steve, finally fully naked in Danny’s bed. He’s overwhelmed by the thought of all the things he wants to do with this gorgeous man, but he recognizes that after all these years they’re probably going to be a bit too desperate to have the patience for much finesse this first time. He’s also mindful of Steve’s inexperience, although no one would suspect it given the way he gleefully strips Danny out of his shorts and immediately reaches out to explore.

For a while after that, Danny effectively stops thinking and just gives himself over to the exquisite physical sensations, until they eventually collapse in a sweaty, thoroughly satisfied heap. He’s blissfully happy, and yet it feels so surreal that he can’t hold back a giddy laugh. Steve meets his gaze and then joins in. Danny has never heard him sound so joyful and carefree.

Later that day, they have a serious discussion about whether they’re ready to be open about their relationship. Steve seems thrilled that Danny’s first priority is informing the kids, although it likely won’t be much of a surprise for Grace. They’re also both happy to share the news with all of their other family members. But they end up agreeing to have a little fun with their friends, to see how long it will take for anyone to bring it up.

Over the next week, Danny spends a lot of time in the hospital with Grace. Steve drops by as often as work allows. When a moment arrives where they’re both there and Charlie is present too, they share their news. Both kids are ecstatic about it. Steve is clearly so relieved that he can barely stay on his feet, ending up leaning heavily against Danny, who can’t believe that the giant goof didn’t know that’s how it would go.

Meanwhile, during the brief periods that they’re at home, Danny and Steve manage to find the time to foster their intimate relationship, progressively trying out new ways to pleasure each other. Sometimes Danny can’t quite believe that he gets to have something so wonderful.

At Grace’s welcome home party, they’re practically glued to each other’s sides the whole time. There’s no way their friends haven’t noticed by this point, but amusingly they still don’t say anything. Danny wonders if they’re eventually going to have to just kiss in front of everyone. Preferably at another ohana gathering rather than at work.

A week later, Danny knows that Grace is getting a little irritated by his constant hovering, but he still can’t seem to stop himself. Steve tries to run interference, but there’s only so much that even he can do. The eventual result is a minor squabble over pancakes. Steve has already eaten his own when Grace tries to offer him hers, and Danny is not having it. He knows he’s being ridiculous when he starts buttering Grace’s pancakes for her like she’s a child but carries on regardless.

The morning takes a very disturbing turn when Steve mutters “You never butter my pancakes.”

Grace turns her head sharply to stare at Steve with wide eyes. “Oh my god, is that a sex thing? Because it kinda _sounds_ like a sex thing, and _I’m sitting right here_.”

Steve gapes at her, looking shocked and horrified, so Danny assumes that if there is an inappropriate meaning to that phrase (and holy shit, Grace is right, it does sound like there could be), Steve wasn’t aware. So he might get to live another day.

Fortunately, they’re all saved by a phone call about a homicide. Danny is actually glad now for the excuse to get out of the house. If he stays he might end up getting into an infinitely awkward conversation with his no-longer-quite-so-little girl.

In the car, they’re silent for a few minutes before Steve glances over nervously and says, “Danny, I swear, I didn’t… I _wouldn’t_ …”

“I know,” Danny reassures him. Urgh, the curiosity is killing him, so he gets out his phone to look up the troublesome phrase, then quickly wishes he hadn’t. “Damn it. She was right.”

Steve looks miserable, restlessly shifting in his seat. “It’s fucking, isn’t it?” he guesses.

“Specifically, in the ass,” Danny informs him. He clears his throat. “So I’d better not hear you say it again unless we’re alone and you really mean it.”

Steve’s eyes are huge as he practically whines, “Danny…”

“Sorry. I know, we’re on the way to work, I’m shutting up now.”

Steve sighs and stares straight ahead for the rest of the drive.

It sounds terrible, but it’s a relief to have a murder to focus on, even if it turns out to be a very bizarre case. Danny is extremely grateful that Steve chooses Junior, Tani and Adam to go to the underwater lab. Claustrophobia is no joke. But then of course it all goes to hell, with their teammates facing certain death unless Steve does something certifiably dangerous.

Danny puts up the token protest that’s expected of him, but knows he can’t stoop to the level of using the increased depth of their connection as emotional blackmail. So he sends the idiot on his way with a very quick kiss and a heartfelt, “I love you.”

Waiting for Steve to resurface, and knowing that even if he does there’s a chance he’ll be in critical condition, is agonizing. But finally, there he is, and Danny hastily hauls him back onto the boat. After reassuring each other that everything is going to plan, Danny finds himself begging, “Don’t ever, ever do that to me again, please.”

Steve just stares at him while still struggling to breathe. As soon as he’s mostly recovered, Danny grabs him and does his best to kiss him breathless again.

Danny suddenly feels unexpected sympathy for Rachel; it’s not easy loving someone so courageously selfless. But unlike her, Danny intends to constantly remind himself that Steve is more than worth every second of stress.


	9. Chapter 9

It’s been five days since the first time he and Danny had sex when Steve suddenly realizes that during that time he’s been so preoccupied that he hasn’t thought about the curse at all. He automatically reaches for his arm to check the timer, but changes his mind in the last few seconds before activating it. Zorina didn’t provide a definition for ‘sexual activity’, and if it turns out that nothing except penetration counts, Steve doesn’t want to know it. He doesn’t need that kind of pressure, or to be made to feel like everything they’ve done so far to bring each other to the height of pleasure is insignificant. A random crazy witch doesn’t get to pass judgement on the validity of the methods they use to express their love, particularly when Steve’s opinion is that it’s all been spectacular, despite a few brief moments of awkward clumsiness on his own part. Given that maintaining some form of physical contact whenever they’re close enough to do so is by now a totally instinctive behaviour, plus all the time they spend kissing, they’re in no danger of running out of time in any case.

But ten days later, the mortifying ‘butter my pancakes’ incident occurs and after the subsequent conversation in the car, Steve struggles to get the idea of having Danny inside him out of his head. Somehow, the casual way Danny mentioned it makes the prospect a lot less daunting. Still, he doesn’t want to get accused of trying to rush himself, so he waits another few days before informing his partner that he’s ready to give it a try, although he doesn’t use the dreaded phrase, which he suspects might remain traumatic forever. Naturally, Danny gives him every opportunity to change his mind, at every stage of the process, until Steve ends up breathlessly demanding that he get on with it already. Danny finally complies, and, wow, it’s a little strange and very intense, but also so much better than Steve ever imagined.

It’s another week before they try it the other way around, as it turns out that Danny is actually more nervous than Steve ever was about the idea of being on the receiving end, since he had tried it once before in college and sadly hadn’t enjoyed it very much. Steve tries to tell him that he’s more than willing to carry on as they have been, and that Danny shouldn’t feel obligated to switch, but Danny insists that the level of love and trust he feels for Steve might make all the difference, so he wants to try again. It’s a bit nerve wracking at first, but turns out to be an immensely gratifying experience for them both. However, to his own surprise, Steve finds he actually prefers bottoming, and he’s not ashamed to admit it.

Steve can’t quite believe how different his life has become in just a few short weeks. He finally has Danny by his side the way he always dreamed of but never thought would happen, and they have the wholehearted support of all of their family members. Having Grace and Charlie’s approval, and getting to spend more time than ever with them, means the world to him.

Of course, eventually something has to come along to spoil his good mood, and it arrives in the form of learning that Annie Kehr’s parents are trying to send her out of state for conversion therapy. Steve finds himself wanting to shock the ignorant, self-righteous fools by disclosing his own relationship status, but that’s definitely not the best way to officially come out to the team. He also once again desperately wants to claim Grace and Charlie as his own when asked whether he has children, but he can’t do that either.

In the spirit of openness that they have now established, Steve tells Danny all of this when he gets home that night. He also brings up the fact that he never informed his parents about his sexual orientation, and that sometimes he wonders how they might have reacted if he’d done so when he was a teenager, not to mention how his mother might react now, if she can ever be bothered to get in touch.

Danny is just as furious as Steve that conversion therapy is still legal anywhere in the country. He reassures Steve that based on everything he’s ever heard about John McGarrett, Danny believes he never would have inflicted such a thing on his son. Doris doesn’t get a mention, but Steve already knew that after all the things she’s done, his partner isn’t her biggest fan. Steve can’t be mad at him for it when it’s clearly rooted in his love for Steve and the resulting anger at the pain Doris has caused.

In response to the other issues of the day, Danny suggests that they should at long last inform the team, but ultimately Steve decides that he’s actually been enjoying the entertainment value of waiting for them to bring it up and he’s not going to let a moment of anger at a pair of assholes ruin his fun. Finally, Danny tells Steve that even if he didn’t realize it, he was already a parental figure to Grace and Charlie even before their relationship deepened, and that the reality of that bond is more important than being able to put a label on it. Steve is somewhat mollified but still wants to have the label as soon as possible.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, they have a brief discussion about it and discover that neither of them particularly enjoy the overly commercialized nature of the event, or the idea of being ‘forced’ to be romantic with your partner in some cliched way rather than simply doing so as and when the mood strikes and in a manner of your own choosing. So when the day comes, they just have a quiet evening at home. Making love is the important part anyway and there’s more time to indulge if you don’t bother participating in all the other nonsense first. It's a fantastic night.

Steve spends the next day dealing with El Diablo and the chaos caused by the hurricane. He arrives home at some ungodly hour to find Danny asleep on the couch with Rachel. He freezes in the doorway, knowing that it’s ridiculous to feel insecure about Danny’s love for him, but experiencing it nonetheless. He possibly shuts the door behind himself a little louder than is necessary. Rachel doesn’t so much as twitch, but Danny’s eyes blink open and he quickly slides out of her grasp, silently crossing the room to greet Steve with a soft kiss before leading him to the bedroom.

The following week, at Adam’s housewarming party, Steve finally cracks and just leans over to briefly kiss Danny in front of everyone. The response is a combination of cheers and jubilant laughter, followed by heartfelt congratulations and merciless teasing. Steve has never been happier.

Unfortunately, two weeks later, more trouble arrives in the form of Rachel’s mother, Amanda Savage. Despite the fact that they’re doing her a favor by agreeing to be her bodyguards for the day, she’s openly hostile towards them both. Eventually, during an exhausting shopping trip, Danny asks Steve to take the bags they already have to the limo, presumably so he can confront Amanda alone.

Steve is halfway back to the store where he left them when Danny bursts out of the door and marches towards him looking incandescent with rage.

“We’re leaving,” Danny announces as soon as he’s close enough, grabbing Steve’s arm and trying to drag him further from the store.

Steve goes along, but not very quickly. “Danny, I know she’s awful, but we promised to protect her.”

“Right now, I don’t care if she dies,” Danny snaps.

Steve stops moving, forcing Danny to stop too. “You can’t mean that. She’s your children’s grandmother.”

“Yes, but if she had her way, _you_ would not be in their lives. And apparently neither would I if I ‘insist on behaving in a deviant manner’.”

Steve feels like he’s just been punched in the chest, and can’t say anything more intelligent than, “Oh.”

“Come on,” Danny says urgently, tugging on his arm again to get him moving. “We’re walking back to my car so I can work off my homicidal impulses.”

That’s probably wise. Steve is starting to feel a little murderous himself, so he matches Danny’s brisk pace without further comment.

Rachel swears that she had no idea what her mother was planning, and that she doesn’t share her repugnant views. Steve doesn’t trust Rachel at all and thinks she still hopes to get Danny back, but he’s no longer even slightly concerned about it. Still, things are unsurprisingly a bit frosty between the three of them for a while after that, although they try not to let it show in front of the kids.

Otherwise, life is good and more than a month goes by without any further drama. Steve wouldn’t have thought it possible, but he and Danny grow closer every day, and there’s no question in his mind that he wants to be with Danny for the rest of his life. He tests the waters with a joke after refusing to give back half of Agnes Miller’s cat figurines, suggesting that maybe someday Danny will be entitled to half of them anyway. Danny just huffs in frustration and stalks off. Okay, so maybe not yet. Steve redirects his attention to calling everyone they know to try to find a temporary home for Mr Pickles. Danny had made it clear that he can’t send his children back to Rachel covered in cat hair.

A few weeks later, when Mary announces that she’s visiting the island, she tells Steve that she wants some privacy, so they agree for her to stay at Danny’s place alone while Steve and Danny stay at Steve’s. While Steve is hanging out with her, she seems a bit mopey and eventually confesses that she had been planning to meet her ex-boyfriend from middle school before he ghosted her. Steve tries to cheer her up by saying that at least she’s trying, and that you have to take chances in order to find happiness. Mary takes the opportunity to comment on how great it is to see Steve so happy, even though he’s a moron who took forever to see what was right in front of his face. Steve can’t defend himself against that.

It’s another two weeks before Steve finds himself sitting at his desk, with Danny lounging on the couch, while Frank Bama describes his new business venue involving romantic tours of the island and a chapel on the water.

“You got ordained?” Steve asks, realizing a moment too late that his tone betrays an unusual level of interest in the subject.

Sharp as ever, Frank grins as he replies. “Yes. Why, are you in need of my services?”

“No, no he is not,” Danny says firmly, glaring at Steve a little.

Frank glances back and forth between them. “Wait, are you two…?”

Danny sighs. “We’re together. But we are _not_ getting married.”

In theory, that should be upsetting, but Steve actually finds himself smirking. “You know,” he says thoughtfully, “I seem to recall you saying something very similar about something else.”

“Shut up,” Danny says, but there’s very little heat behind it. Then he throws his hands in the air and excuses himself, muttering something unintelligible as he leaves.

Frank raises his eyebrows, saying with amusement, “Good luck with that.”

Steve grins as he replies, “Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch about those services soon enough.”

A little over two months later, Steve and Danny are enjoying a post-coital cuddle, with Steve lying on his back and Danny half on top of him, when a strange rush of warmth passes over Steve’s whole body. The timer on his arm suddenly appears without prompting, flashing '365:05:48:46' several times before disappearing, presumably for good.

Danny shifts enough to be able to look Steve in the eyes as he says archly, “I guess you can let go of me now.”

“ _Never_ ,” Steve vows, reflexively tightening his grip on Danny. He pauses momentarily before adding hopefully, “Marry me?”

Danny gives him a by now very familiar look of fond exasperation, but his expression softens as he continues to gaze into Steve’s eyes. “Yeah, okay,” he says quietly. “But you realize you’re going to get a lot of shit for this proposal story, right?”

That’s probably true, but Steve couldn’t care less, letting out a delighted laugh as he moves in for a joyous celebratory kiss.

He thinks back to the crazy witch saying something about a parting gift. Steve has no idea why she decided to give them this rather than killing them like all the others, but he’s eternally grateful; without the push he might never have ended up here, with an amazing, perfect fiance and a very promising future ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did check the duration of Earth's orbit to the 7th decimal place, lol.
> 
> Thanks for reading and, as always, any comments/kudos are much appreciated :)


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